Business News

With so much focus these days on saving for retirement, it’s easy to overlook an equally critical step that relates directly to your future security—how successfully you convert your savings into retirement cash flow.  This process might sound simple, but it prompts several key questions: Which account should you draw from first?  How do you keep your remaining assets growing?  And, perhaps most important, how much can you take out each year without running out of money?

If there is any one question I get over and over again, it is from people stuck in an unaffordable mortgage asking me how to force Big Mortgage Company, Inc. to change their loan to something they can afford.

People sometimes tell how they paid money to someone to contact their mortgage company.  Why not just do that yourself?  It’s the friend of a friend; they have an attorney who is good at this kind of stuff.  When I ask if they’ve every spoken to your lawyer on the phone, they answer?  “Um, not really.”

Global events can certainly affect the U.S. stock market.  Throughout its history, however, the U.S. stock market has proved to be quite resilient over the long term—bouncing back time and time again from the impact of world crises. Examining how some past global problems have affected the U.S. stock market may help you better grapple with the economic and investment uncertainties of crisis events.

The culture of your business will influence your success.  What is involved here?  The culture of a business involves many things.  Let’s look at some.  Hard work is important in establishing a commitment to achieve results.  Also, the aspect of being thrifty in using resources is important.  It is important to have a culture encompassing honesty, which leads to trust.

Key man insurance, also known as key employee life insurance, is most often used in small–to–medium–sized businesses where the death of a key employee could severely affect the stability or profitability of the company.  Many companies do not survive the death of a key employee because the knowledge, skills, contacts, or business relationships of the key person are so hard to replace.

If you are about to file a lawsuit in a personal injury case, you want to file it against as many defendants as possible.  Why?  First, for liability purposes.  You want to make sure you have all potentially responsible parties in the case.  Otherwise, the defendant(s) can deflect liability onto a third party who is not in the case.

San Juan Capistrano has the swallows; Washington its cherry blossoms; but for Lancaster, the sure sign of spring is the annual California Poppy Festival. With hundreds of exhibits, performers and activities for the entire family, the Poppy Festival has become a widely acclaimed event that draws thousands from throughout the Southland.

In the 1960’s I lived in Greenland for one year.  Going from Southern California to Greenland is a major change.  Greenland is in the Artic Circle and is very cold.  The now, ice and glaciers remain year round and the temperature drops to a minus 70 degrees. 

California law generally (with some exceptions) gives you two years to file a lawsuit against a private party in a case involving personal injuries or wrongful death.  However, the same does not apply (generally) if you have a case against a public or government entity.

Although Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs) offer some nice tax advantages, high earners have not been able to use them effectively due to tax law restrictions.  A new law changes this, starting in 2010.

Everyone uses the terms income, savings, wealth and money, and they appear on a daily basis in all forms of media . But what do they exactly mean when used by economists and financial professionals?

One of the thorniest issues in a divorce or separation is what to do with a community property home that is (a) not selling or (b) upside down such that one spouse cannot buy out the other spouse’s interest.  Not only does this prove to be a difficult financial pickle, but a social pickle as well, especially when you have to reside in the same space while your divorce or separation action is pending.

Work with your Financial Advisor — There are many do-it-yourself investment resources available to investors today, but none of them can replace the experienced, personal service we provide.  We have the expertise and resources to offer an understanding of your complete financial picture, not just your investments.  Additionally, in periods of market volatility, when you need the most support, we also can provide:

Tough economic times often lead to an increased number of divorces.  We hope it won’t happen this time around, but it very well could.  When a divorce occurs, one ex-spouse is often obligated to make continuing payments to the other.  Payments that meet the tax-law definition of alimony can be deducted by the payer for federal income tax purposes, and must be reported as gross income by the recipient. 

UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, agreed to provide to the U.S. government with names of those it suspects of using its accounts to evade paying taxes in the United States.  This move comes after UBS agreed to pay $780 million to settle an investigation of its activities.

Just when you might be tempted to apply for anything anywhere and talk to anybody for an employment opportunity, you need to do the opposite!  Frustration must not lead to desperation.  Frustration must be channeled into strategy.  All that stress needs to become “stressing the positive.”

One area that small business owners have an advantage is in retirement planning. Several types of plans are available.
• Traditional IRA plans such as Individual IRA or Roth IRA are low-maintenance and have low contribution levels.  These are best used by individuals who are able to contribute no more than a few thousand dollars each year.  The small business owner will not get the benefits available with other plans geared to the self-employed business owner.

Thanks to their beneficial tax treatment, qualified tuition programs (QTPs—commonly referred to as 529 plans) have become the plan of choice for many taxpayers trying to save enough money to cover the ever-escalating costs of getting their child or grandchild through college.  Over the last several years, many folks have invested a considerable amount of money in these plans. Unfortunately, the market has not been any kinder to these plans than to the rest of us.  There are more than a few taxpayers out there who have QTPs worth less than what they put into them.  That begs the question: Are the losses deductible? Better yet, can I liquidate the account, claim a loss, and then reinvest the proceeds in another QTP for my child or grandchild?